"[Van Marwijk] comes with a lot of World Cup knowledge after making the final with the Dutch side and qualifying with Saudi Arabia, but also knowing the Australian team inside out," he said.

"When you do your homework as a coach you don't just watch one game before, you watch them four or five games before, so no doubt his knowledge is very high on the team."

Arnold said he would play no role on the Socceroos staff during the World Cup campaign, reaffirming his commitment to Sydney FC for the remainder of the A-League season.

However, he left the door open to take up the ongoing Socceroos coaching role after the World Cup.

"I'm a very proud Australian and it's a job that any coach would aspire to do and I'm no different to that," he said.

Other coaches believed to have been in the mix included Roberto Mancini, Jurgen Klinsmann, Slaven Bilic, Louis van Gaal and Marcelo Bielsa.

Australian Postecoglou took up the post ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on a wave of nationalism in national coaching appointments but in Van Marwijk, the FFA has reverted to the Dutch leadership they employed in 2006 and 2010.

Guus Hiddink led the Socceroos to the knockout round in Germany 12 years ago, while Pim Verbeek was in charge when Australia played in South Africa four years later.

Coach named ahead of schedule

The naming of a new coach comes ahead of schedule, with FFA chief executive David Gallop having previously said the position would be filled by the middle of February.